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Contemporaries to covet in June – and giveaway!

Happy Memorial Day to my U.S. readers! And happy Pentecost Monday to European readers! Yes, today’s a holiday in many countries, including the Netherlands, and I’m about to celebrate the end of a bad head cold by snoozing among the ducklings in our local park.

Anyhoo…It’s that time of the month again! Time to gab about the contemporary romance releases we’re most looking forward to.

Every month, I tell you which contemporary romance novels I’m looking forward to, and I ask which new releases you can’t wait to read. I’ll randomly choose one commenter to win a $10 gift certificate for herself AND for the contemporary romance author she recommends.

Ready? Here are the June releases I’m loving!

Cowboy Crazy by Joanne Kennedy

She kicked the country dust off her boots a long time ago…

Sarah Landon’s Ivy League scholarship transformed her from a wide-eyed country girl into a poised professional. Her job at the Carrigan Oil Company has given her the sophisticated life she longed for, but when she meets her boss’s black-sheep brother, she realizes her roots are showing.

But he’s ready to remind her she’s a cowgirl at heart.

Rebellious rodeo cowboy Lane Carrigan is determined to save the Wyoming community of Two Shot from the ravages of energy development, but Sarah’s convinced her old hometown needs a swift kick in the pants from the march of progress.

When a lapsed cowgirl collides with rodeo royalty, it’s bound to be a wild ride—and somebody’s going to end up in the dirt.

My two cents:

I’ve got such a soft spot in my heart for Joanne Kennedy’s cowboys. They’re sweet (though I’d never say that to their faces!) and totally devoted to their heroines.

Slow Summer Kisses by Shannon Stacey

Anna Frazier is used to living life at 100 mph, but being downsized out of a job in the financial industry has her permanently stalled. With nowhere to go, go, go, Anna hails a cab to her grandparents’ neglected New Hampshire camp to plan her next move. It seems like a good idea—until she realizes there’s no takeout to be had and the boy next door has grown into a sexy but surly recluse.

Cameron Mayfield knows he can kiss his peace and quiet goodbye when Hurricane Anna blows in. She was loud and bossy as a ten-year-old—and besides developing some attractive curves, she hasn’t changed. Cam’s not looking for a relationship, especially not with a woman like Anna. He nearly broke down on that road once before. So why can’t he stop thinking about her?

It’s not long before their sizzling attraction leads to smoking-hot kisses. But as the days get shorter, Anna must decide if she’s found a new road to happiness, or just taken a detour.

I can’t tell you what a massive writer crush I have on Shannon Stacey. Her stories totally, totally rock. And even though this is a novella, I will be first in line to buy it. Because seriously, it’s just cruel that I have to wait until September for another Shannon Stacey novel. Cruel.

Giveaway!

Answer at least one of the questions in bold below. By “contemporary romance” I mean romance between human beings set in the present day. It can be romantic suspense, inspirational, erotic, category-length or whatever.

I’ll choose one winner on Tuesday June 5th. That person will get a $10 gift certificate to the online book retailer of their choice, AND I’ll send the same to the author they mention.

If the winner mentions more than one author, I’ll ask her to choose which one gets the gift certificate.

This is open internationally.

Questions:
What contemporary romance novel(s) coming out in June are you looking forward to? Have you read anything by the authors I mentioned? Which of their books do you like best?

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23 thoughts on “Contemporaries to covet in June – and giveaway!”

I will have to go with Cowboy Crazy by Joanne Kennedy. I love her books and I am hooked on cowboys right now. I have read her book One Fine Cowboy and it was really good. If you were asking for historicals I would go with Kaki Warners Bride of the High Country.

The Joanne Kennedy book looks good – I have several of hers on my tbr. I wish Stacey’s book that you mentioned was in print. I loved her recent series about those funny sexy brothers, Exclusively Yours etc (I think was one of the titles.

I too would like to read Joanne Kennedy’s book and after admitting that I’m not totally up on a lot of contemporaries, I’ve been hearing a lot of good things about Rachel Gibson’s Rescue Me. I also read anything by Jodi Picoult. Thanks!

I am looking forward to Joanne Kennedy’s book too. Who doesn’t love a great cowboy sometimes! But I am really looking forward to the new book by Kallypso Masters. Her books are very adult but have great romances and characters.

Jill Shalvis “Lucky in Love” is one I enjoyed. But if I listed all the contemporary romance authors I love, you better have a long blog. I have 500 books to review in my corner. You can find many reviews I have written on Amazon, Alibris, Christianbook, Goodreads, and other places. This is my service to the author when I enjoy their book. Christine Rimmer is an author I dearly love.

Thank you! Thank you! I did not know Shannon Stacey had a new story coming out so this is definitely what I am most looking forward to reading. My favorite book of hers (so far!) may be the novella “Holiday Sparks” from a 2010 Carina Press Christmas anthology.

Ooh, Shannon Stacey – I knew she had a new book coming out but I wasn’t sure when. I will be getting that one for sure. I’ve read all of her Carina Press books and loved them. Also looking forward to At Last by Jill Shalvis, but the one book that I’ve got on pre-order is Ruthie Knox’s new book, About Last Night. It’s a digital only Loveswept release. Her debut, Ride With Me, was one of the most enjoyable (and original) contemporaries that I’ve read this year. It’s a road romance, but the setting is a cross-country bike ride.

Kat, thank you for making “Cowboy Crazy” a contemporary to covet! I’m flattered, and I’m really happy to see Shannon Stacey on the same post. I just started reading her books and I absolutely love them!
Thanks to all the readers who added my book to their TBR pile! It just went up on Amazon and Barnes & Noble today!